Sentinel Sports Now - Orlando Sentinelhttp://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now
Just another Blogs at Orlando Sentinel weblogFri, 30 Dec 2011 17:46:10 +0000http://wordpress.org/?v=abcenhourly1Orlando Sentinel sports staff gives thanks for our top 2011 sports momentshttp://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now/2011/11/23/orlando-sentinel-sports-staff-gives-thanks-for-our-top-2011-sports-moments/
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now/2011/11/23/orlando-sentinel-sports-staff-gives-thanks-for-our-top-2011-sports-moments/#commentsWed, 23 Nov 2011 22:41:58 +0000shannonowenshttp://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now/?p=5077Thanksgiving is the king of holidays in the sports world mainly because of our gluttonous consumption of food and football. But the most important part of this holiday is our recognition of gratitude.

We’ve seen some major highs and lows in the world of sports in our backyard of Central Florida and beyond this year and the Orlando Sentinel Sports staff wanted to take a moment to give thanks for our top sports moments in 2011 so far.

Drumroll please…..

“I’m thankful that Gilbert Arenas shut down his Twitter account because now he can focus on what’s really important: Becoming a posterchild for the amnesty clause.

I’m thankful for the NBA lockout because now Stan Van Gundy can spend more time with Urban Meyer’s family.

I’m thankful that Orlando will have a superstar athlete like Dwight Howard to cheer for in the years/months ahead.

I’m thankful college football season is almost over in the State of Florida because, quite frankly, haven’t we suffered enough?”- Mike Bianchi, sports columnist

“I’m grateful the Kentucky men’s basketball team made it to the Final Four and I got to watch the rounds of 16 and 8 with my mom.” – Mark Blythe, news assistant

“I am thankful for Tim Tebow and his polarizing ability to turn the NFL world upside down. People love him. People hate him. Either way, he grabs your attention.” – George Diaz, senior sports columnist”

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to cover the achievements of some of the teams here at Florida. From the men’s basketball team’s run to the Elite Eight to the women’s lacrosse team making history throughout its first conference championship season, there’s never a lack of stories here in Gainesville. In my first full year on the beat, I had a chance to cover Florida’s most successful season ever as a program. That meant some fun travels (the NCAA Tournament in New Orleans), meeting many interesting people and getting to tell stories. At the end of the day, having a job that allows me to do that is what I am most thankful for.” – Rachel George, University of Florida beat reporter

“I’m thankful for athletes like Arizona State wrestler Anthony Robles. Born without a right leg, the 22-year-old capped his senior season in March by earning an emotional NCAA individual title. He was 36-0 for the year. In July, he received the “Jimmy V Award for Perseverance” during ESPN’s annual ESPYs awards show. A true inspiration in character and a good study of perseverance and determination, Robles’ story is the kind I wish we would tell more often. In days when point-shaving scandals, sex abuse scandals and improper benefits scandals dominate the college sports world’s headlines, it is refreshing to know athletes — scratch that, human beings — like Robles exist. I’m thankful for that.” – Coley Harvey, Florida State beat reporter

“I’m thankful I had the opportunity to watch a lot of close UCF football games this year. The Knights had a rough season, but six of the dramatic games were decided by seven points or less. The players never stopped trying to win and contributed to some pretty exciting games.” — Iliana Limón, University of Central Florida beat reporter

“I’m thankful that for the first time in a long time, the world paused to care about the NCAA women’s basketball championship game and Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma had nothing to do with it. On another note, I’m also thankful Mike Bianchi dressed up in a twitter bird costume this summer.” - Shannon J. Owens, sports columnist

“I am thankful to see that more attention is being paid to the problem of chronic brain injury in football, hockey and even baseball. The consequences of accumulated concussions still are not well understood, and I would argue that the press as a whole isn’t doing sufficient work to report on this issue, especially as it pertains to youth sports. But I think some progress is being made. I hope more progress is made in the future.” - Josh Robbins, Orlando Magic writer

“I am thankful for whenever I can pick up the sports section and not have to read about child sex abuse, fans beating up fans of other teams and rich people arguing about how to split their riches. In short, I’m thankful for whenever sports is a diversion from the real world, not a microcosm of it.” – Steve Ruiz, local sports editor

“I’m thankful to see Erik Compton will finally get his chance to compete as a full PGA Tour member next year – on merit and not as a special invitee. Golf is a hard enough game without having to deal with getting your ticker swapped out. Twice.” – Jeff Shain, golf writer

“I’m thankful for a Sentinel sports staff that is committed to telling good stories, digging for the truth, connecting with our readers and embracing all the platforms in which we can communicate with our audience. I’m thankful for a community that loves its sports. And most of all, I’m thankful for the many readers who are passionate about those sports and about what they want from Sentinel in print, online and on their mobile devices.” – Tim Stephens, sports topic manager

“I am thankful for the opportunity to cover high school athletics, where most athletes play for the pure fun, for their school and community, and to be with their friends, not because it is a business. If pro athletes and team owners would remember back to their roots, maybe there wouldn’t be so much labor unrest.” – Joe Williams, senior high school reporter

Now that you’ve heard from our staff, what sports moments of 2011 are you thankful for?

Orlando center Dwight Howard (12) drives against Milwaukee forward Luc Mbah a Moute (12) during the first half of the Magic's game against the Bucks in an NBA basketball game at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. Tuesday, April 5, 2010. (Gary W. Green/staff photographer)

If you watch ESPN’s popular debate show, 1st and 10, then you probably have a good idea that ESPN pundit Rob Parker has been a big believer in the Orlando Magic.

The dogfight among the top three Eastern Conference teams, Chicago, Miami and Boston sparked the question, “the Bulls are up 3 over Miami and Boston in the East, so who do you see coming out of the East?”

Rob Parker: The Orlando Magic and I know I’m going to keep beating this drum, nobody wants to buy them, they’re old news, you know the big trade. They’re still trying to put some pieces together. And they’ve faltered. They don’t look like a team that’s gained steam going into the playoffs. But when you get to the playoffs and you play half-court basketball and you have that big guy, Dwight Howard, who Skip would you admit is having an unbelievable season?

Skip Bayless: Uh, some nights. They’re good.

Rob Parker: If you can get these guys from the perimeter to make shots, they can win. We’ve seen it before. I know this isn’t two years ago and that team should have won the championship when they made the change of point guard late in the finals. But I like Dwight Howard, I like the shooting and they’re fourth or fifth-best defensively as well. Score from the perimeter, they can knock down 3s, they can play defense and they have a big man. All those things I love.

Bayless disagreed and added that the Orlando Magic is “handicapped because of its head coach [Stan Van Gundy]…this could be his last run.”

There’s no doubt the 2010-11 season has been quite the roller coaster ride for the Magic. But should the Magic’s perimeter players suddenly find consistency in their shots, and Orlando match up well with its opponents, anything is possible.

Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy reacts from the sidelines against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was voted the most popular coach on a NBA players’ poll. Too bad it wasn’t a popular category.Sports Illustrated asked 138 NBA players which coach was the most annoying during games and Stan Van Gundy won by a country mile taking 65 percent of the vote. Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles tied for second place with 7 percent.

As usual, the guys didn’t hold back. Jackson said he understood Stan Van Gundy was protecting his star player, but went overboard with the criticism.

Jeff Van Gundy, brother to Stan Van Gundy, took an emotionally neutral stance for the most part pointing to the discrepancy between the number of flagrant fouls Dwight Howard has called for him versus how many times he’s fouled during the NBA season.

“Well, I thought Stan’s comments were snarky and I was surprised by what I thought were unbecoming comments by Commissioner Stern,” Jeff Van Gundy said. “But I think the comments obscure the big fact. The big fact, to me, is is Dwight Howard being officiated correctly?”

“Up until a couple of days ago there’s been 88 flagrant fouls called in the NBA this season drawn by 67 players. Dwight Howard is the most fouled player in the league and has had not one flagrant foul committed against him. Blake Griffin leads the league, he’s had eight called for him. Going back the last flagrant foul called against Dwight Howard was a year, 81 games, almost 3,000 minutes. I would suspect he’s been fouled a thousand time in those times. Are we to say that this this guy who has been fouled the most has never had a flagrant foul called, a thousand fouls? If I was the NBA, I would forget about the comments and I would look to is there a point the Magic are making that’s correct.”

But the conversation took a comical turn after Lisa Salters gave her sideline report about Otis Smith confirming team management spoke with Stan Van Gundy’s public outlash against the commissioner.

In case you don’t recall, David Stern’s response to Stan Van Gundy, his quote is as follows; “I see somebody whose team isn’t performing, whose star players is suspended, who seems to be fraying. Whatever the pressures are that Stan is feeling…it made me sad. I would render a guess…that we won’t be hearing from him the rest of the season. When he stops and reads what he said and realizes what he did, he will say no more.”

Orlando's Rashard Lewis and J. J. Redick react in during overtime as the Lakers Kobe Bryant celebrates in the background during the Magic's 101-96 loss to the Lakers in game two of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA Sunday, June 7, 2009. (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel)

Stan Van Gundy has greatness on his hands with the new cast of Orlando Magic basketball players.

It’ll either be a great mess or a great success. Only time will tell for sure.

But one thing is for certain, Chris Duhon, Quentin Richardson and J.J. Redick are playing on borrowed time with the addition of an almost new basketball team of perimeter players, including Gilbert Arenas, Earl Clark, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu. Even ESPN basketball analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy were stumped when it concerned who would play where and when and why.

“I’m really interested in their chemistry because guys like Duhon, Quentin Richardson, J.J. Redick with these three new perimeter players, their minutes will, to me, go down dramatically or be eliminated,” Jeff Van Gundy said during a Monday conference call. “It’ll be interesting to see how they accept their new roles.”

Should that mean significantly less time for J.J. Redick, he should go throw a lump of coal at the houses of Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter. Seriously, he stands to pay the worst price in this entire trade deal, which is in large part due to the lackluster play of Lewis and Carter.

Happy holidays Redick.

Listen, Redick is no Rajon Rondo so no one should have any grand illusions about his potential. And now that the initial shock has worn off, I believe Otis Smith ultimately made the right move.

But what Redick has offered the Magic is hard work, a good attitude and, let’s face it, more consistency in the playoffs than Vince Carter.

Redick had a moment of frustration a few years ago when he complained to the Orlando Sentinel in 2008 about not getting enough playing time and wanting a trade. He was the No. 11 pick of the 2006 draft, after all.

But when he got a small break, he played to his potential. So much so that the Chicago Bulls wanted to acquire his talents this summer. The Magic, shockingly, matched the $19 million offer and Redick got his just due.

This is the cut-throat business of basketball. One minute you’re as desirable as Scarlett Johanssen. The next, you’re Roseanne Barr.

The reality is that the Magic have more perimeter talent than available spots. If Redick’s future with the Magic is more time with the pine, then I say let him go explore his options elsewhere. It’s only fair.

Statistics are not the only factor in determining an NBA MVP, but they do play, perhaps, the largest role. With LeBron James’ move to the Miami Heat this season, his overall numbers will likely decrease playing alongside former NBA champion Dwyane Wade.

There is a possibility the Miami Heat’s Three Kings could cancel each other out for individual season honors. So where does exactly does that leave some of the more obvious candidates like Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard?

“When you say Kobe, LeBron, Wade and Durant, Dwight Howard’s name fits just fine in that conversation,” said ESPN analyst Mark Jackson. “He’s an elite basketball player and you can make the case that he was the MVP last year and you expect him to continue to do the things he’s done from day one of entering into this league.”

Big guys have traditionally done well in MVP awards. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record with six awards while Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell have combined for nine awards.

The award has become more guard-oriented since 2000 as guards and forwards masquerading as guards have accounted for at least six of the past 10 awards.

Last season, LeBron James repeated as the league’s MVP by a landslide vote collecting 1,205 points to Kevin Durant’s second place finish (609 points) Dwight Howard finished in fourth place with 478 points.

“I just think probably until he’s at least 35 it’ll be LeBron winning the [MVP] award every year; I just do,” Van Gundy said. “He sort of has to go into every season now and lose the award. That’s just the reality of the situation. He certainly hasn’t done that, he’s had a hell of a year.”

Van Gundy’s brother and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy agreed Dwight Howard didn’t get enough consideration for the award, but said LeBron James was the right selection during a conference call earlier this week.

”There’s been talk every year about an expanded offensive game. It’ll be interesting to see if that pans out, but this guy, even with the offensive game that he has from last year, he’s an MVP candidate,” Jeff Van Gundy said.

So what’s your take? Will LeBron James and Dwyane Wade’s partnership crack the door farther for Dwight Howard’s bid to earn an MVP award in the future?

If you have a news tip, e-mail Shannon at sjowens@orlandosentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter@shannonowens and friend Sentinel Sports Now on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sentinelsportsnow.

Bayless was asked if Van Gundy’s Miami Heat predictions (setting a single-season record and not losing more than two games in a row) were right during Monday’s episode of First Take and he took the answer in an interesting direction.

“I will agree with Jeff [that] the Heat will be the best team in the East. But let’s see, Jeff is the brother of a guy named Stan who happens to be the coach of the Orlando Magic, who happen to be in the same division as the Miami Heat and who now think they’re the best team in the East and that they can make that case,” Bayless said. “So I think there’s a little hidden agenda here for Jeff. I think he is setting up the Heat for a longer fall, which he would hope for his brother’s sake that they have. I think he’s ratcheting up the pressure on the new Miami Heat to the point that they’ll be a little tighter earlier in the year and maybe they will have a chance to lose a couple of games in a row.”

It’s a pretty far stretch to say the Heat won’t lose more than two games in a row during a 82-game regular season schedule. Keep in mind, Boston and Orlando essentially have the same teams as last season. And let’s not forget there isn’t a single center in the NBA right now that can match-up with Dwight Howard.

But it’s an even farther stretch to suggest Jeff Van Gundy would purposely give an inflated opinion about the Heat to add “pressure” on Miami thus creating some sort of diversion for Orlando.

Sure, Jeff Van Gundy has even admitted himself to “pulling punches” in his criticism, particularly during the 2009 NBA Finals between the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. But he’s never been convicted of delivering the punches.

Given the overall level of professionalism he’s shown throughout his entire body of work, I’d give him the benefit of doubt on this one and say he’s just giving his honest opinion.

What do you think sports fans? Do you believe Jeff Van Gundy is inflating his opinion about the Heat to help the Magic or is he simply speaking his mind?

People are sitting around their cubicles or at home running their own names through the Wu Tang Clan Name Generator to generate their new, much cooler, Wu Tang Clan name. (The Wu Tang Clan is a hip hop group in case you were wondering).

Since Orlando Magic players are probably nowhere near a computer this morning, we’ve decided to run their names through this fun — yet odd — Wu Tang Clan Name Generator to obtain their new names.

(Although, the name generator must be running low on ideas considering Mickael Pietrus and Stan Van Gundy are both called ”Tha Winged Cow.” C’mon, there can only be one cow on the Orlando Magic)

Head coach Stan Van Gundy of the Orlando Magic coaches against the Boston Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs on May 22, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose said Orlando Magic coachStan Van Gundydeserves to keep his job on Mike and Mike in the Morning show and ESPN’s First Take despite the mumblings among critics about the potential of the defending Eastern Conference champions getting swept in the conference finals.

“He definitely deserves to keep that job,” Jalen Rose said on the Mike and Mike morning show. He later added on First Take, “Anytime you lose, everyone makes errors. I think he made one error by not playing Brandon Bass more to allow them to play a conventional lineup, not two centers with Gortat and Howard at halfcourt and have him [Bass] setting the pick and roll for the point guard Nelson where he can make a 15 foot jump shot and play high low with Howard. As opposed to Howard setting the pick and roll, throwing him the basketball in the paint, knowing he has to rush to shoot it knowing he may get a three second call.”

Excellent, excellent point Jalen.

So if Brandon Bass were to come into the picture it would be likely that he would relieve either Rashard Lewis or Matt Barnes. Which, I’m guessing at this point, Magic fans wouldn’t mind giving Lewis a break on the bench.

So what do you think? Is Stan Van Gundy under using Brandon Bass or is he making the right call and the Magic players are under delivering?

Sound off. (to read more of Jalen’s comments click below)

Earlier in the broadcast, a tape was played of Dwight Howard’s postgame comments after losing Game 3 where he raised question about the level of the Magic’s heart in this series. Moderator Dana Jacobson then posed the question to Jalen Rose, “did the Magic quit in Game 3?

“Of course they quit,” Jalen Rose said. “Let’s just be real about it. They rolled over, they were down 0-2, they lost both games on their home floor and anytime you do that, you expect the team that won the Eastern Conference title a year ago to come out with a sense of urgency. Dwight Howard at the half? One point. And yes he earned the Superman moniker. But it was during the dunk contest, not during playoff games and it showed because he played more like Clark Kent.”

Skip Bayless called the Magic’s flounder two rounds ago and got hammered by fans, but his assessment was dead on.